Bolinsky’s Nonprofit Online Raffle Ticket Sales Initiative Clears House

Photo: State Representative Mitch Bolinsky testifies in support of the bill before the Public Safety and Security Committee on Tuesday, February 21, 2017.

HARTFORD – State Representative Mitch Bolinsky (R-Newtown) hailed the passage of his proposal, H.B. 6041 An Act Permitting Nonprofit Organizations to Sell Raffle Tickets Online. The bill garnered significant bi-partisan support when it came before the House for consideration on Thursday, May 25, 2017, and currently awaits action in the Senate.

According to Bolinsky, the intention of this bill is not to create a new channel of ‘for-profit’ gaming. The bill, however, creates a means for local nonprofit organization, such as the Newtown Lions Club, to collect charitable dollars online for local use.

“Several nonprofit entities will benefit from this. The Newtown Lions Club approached me with the solution to this issue. With diminishing government programs resulting from our tight budgets and an economy that has more and more competition for charitable giving resources, we can serve the public good by allowing registered 501c3 charities to sell fundraising raffle tickets on their websites,” explained Bolinsky. “This bill poses no threat to our state’s existing gaming industry.”

Bolinsky went on to note, currently, nonprofit organizations are unable to sell raffle tickets on their own websites. This would just provide another mechanism in which these entities can solicit donations, which are then immediately used for projects and services within the local community.

Bolinsky concluded, “There are too many restrictive mandates on our towns and the nonprofits that serve them. This bill provides a new avenue to bolster qualified charitable organizations, extend their reach and bring additional dollars to do good in our community. It’s a win-win.”

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